HOW many times have your readers sat in a restaurant and said their food is fine when it’s not, just to be polite?

It’s such a British thing to do.

We just don’t question where our food comes from. But I think it’s time we started asking.

That’s why I, and chefs such as Raymond Blanc and Antony Worrall-Thompson, are backing a new campaign called Simply Ask launched by RSPCA Freedom Food. Simply Ask is urging people to start asking restaurants, pubs and cafes if they use eggs from hens that have not been kept in cruel cages.

Eighty per cent of whole and liquid eggs used in restaurants, pubs and cafes, and in products such as cakes and quiches, are still from hens kept in cages, compared to about 58 per cent of eggs sold in boxes in supermarkets.

But it’s so easy to make a difference. The more people Simply Ask for free-range eggs when eating out, the more chefs will use them and the more hens will be free from cages.

So go on, Simply Ask next time you eat out.

Food writer Henrietta Green, FoodLoversBritain.com